Credit

During a downturn, consumers are much more likely to use–and to repay–general-purpose credit cards than retail cards, and pretty much every major retail issuer tried to bail out of the business at some point over the last few years.

VantageScore Solutions LLC, a joint venture of the three credit rating agencies, has prevailed against Fair Isaac Corp. in a lawsuit that alleged antitrust, trademark infringement and false advertising.

It made headlines in Europe, but this week’s announcement that three major telecommunication companies in Germany have joined forces to bypass supporting banks in handling Mpass mobile-payment transactions is a concept not likely to quickly take hold in other countries, one industry observer says.

Interest in Target Corp.’s credit card receivables has “met or exceeded” expectations, and a sale could occur by early next year, Doug Scovanner, Target chief financial officer, said during an Aug. 17 conference call with analysts to discuss fiscal second-quarter earnings.

Eager to exploit new growth opportunities in a sluggish economy, certain payments-industry technology suppliers already are positioning themselves to capitalize on opportunities Visa Inc.’s U.S. EMV chip card initiative may trigger as participants upgrade systems and equipment, observers say.

The recent turmoil in the financial markets has not yet altered banks’ immediate technology spending plans, Jack Henry & Associates Inc.’s top executive says.

Standard Bank Ltd. in South Africa is slashing the minimum monthly repayment rate across all its credit cards to help customers manage their expenses more efficiently, the issuer announced August 11.

After marching downward for more than a year, the average charge-off rate for U.S. consumer credit cards may show an increase for July because two issuers have reported one-time spikes in card-account defaults, a Moody’s Investors Service analyst tells PaymentsSource.

Barclaycard US is introducing the Barclaycard Rewards Boost program for its more than 3 million credit cardholders, the U.S. payments division of Barclays PLC announced Aug. 16.

Credit card delinquencies fell to their lowest point in 17 years in the second quarter as consumers remained cautious about taking on more debt and issuers continued their conservative approach to lending, TransUnion Corp. said Aug. 16.

Isis, the telecommunication consortium intent on offering a mobile-payment scheme, is building out a wider range of mobile-wallet capabilities to keep up with its aggressive rival, Google Inc.

Bank of America Corp.’s deal on Aug. 15 to its sell its unwanted Canadian card assets is the latest example of how smaller acquisitions are fueling a slow revival in the credit card portfolio sales market.

Google Inc.’s Aug. 15 announcement of an agreement to acquire Motorola Mobility Holdings strengthens Google’s position in mobile payments, one observer says.

U.S. consumers continue to show greater discipline in making on-time credit card payments compared with their mortgage payments as part of a phenomenon that began with the most recent recession, new Experian data show.

When Pago Mobile Inc. launched its mobile wallet with 53 merchants in Mountain View, Calif., last week, initial industry reaction focused on the smaller payments-application company venturing into turf more commonly associated with Google Inc. in northern California.

Closing out the tab in a busy restaurant or bar just got easier with the help of a mobile-payments application appropriately called “Tabbedout” from ATX Innovation Inc.

A former waiter at a TGI Friday’s restaurant in Maryland has been indicted on 16 counts of identity theft, theft and conspiracy to commit theft in a credit card skimming scheme that prosecutors say affected 73 individuals.

With Google Inc.’s Aug. 15 announcement of an agreement to acquire Motorola Mobility Holdings, the search giant potentially has turbocharged its mobile-payment plans.

Bank of America Corp. is selling an $8.6 billion credit card portfolio in Canada and plans to unload $19 billion of card loans in Europe as it works to exit the international card business, the issuer announced Aug. 15.

ACI Worldwide Inc. is rolling out an upgraded version of its payments server that will boost security systems and marketing processes for retail clients, including the ability to offer consumers immediate rewards at the point of sale, a company executive says.